Union minister Jitendra Singh Saturday claimed that reports of students hitting the streets in the Valley demanding reopening of educational institutions is an “uprising of children versus the uprising of separatists”. “The children are coming out with their parents protesting in the open for reopening of schools… This is virtually a children’s uprising versus a separatists uprising,” he told reporters here. The current unrest in the Valley has exposed the “duplicity” of the Kashmir-centric politicians who do not want schools to open, the Minister of State in the PMO said.

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“If you see into the positive side of this, this (unrest) has provided an opportunity to the people of Kashmir to see through the designs and the duplicity of these so called Kashmir-centric politicians,” he said.

The state government and the Centre were keen in opening of the educational institutions so that the students’ career does not get affected.

“As far as the success in restoring education and reopening the schools, the Centre and the state are working in close coordination and they would achieve this and as far as the restoration of the confidence of the children is concerned, one notable aspect is that their parents themselves are keen that schools should be reopened so that the children’s career does not get disrupted,” Singh said.

Lashing out at Kashmir-centric politicians, he said while they wanted the children of the poor to resort to stone pelting, their own kids were getting quality education within and outside the country.

“These politicians exposed themselves by instigating the children of the poor to take to the stone pelting while they themselves have lodged their children in the safe havens within the country and abroad,” he said.

Singh said while most of the Kashmir-centric politicians have their children studying in the best institutions in the country and abroad the children of the poor for whom the schools are meant are being gutted down.

The Union Minister further said that the proposal to build concrete bunkers for all border households is under active consideration of the government.

Asserting that the “misadventure” along the borders will not affect the pace of development works, he said proposal of bunker to every family living close to border will soon be realised.

1140 modern toilet facilities are being built along the border, he added.